Oh my!

Goodness, it has been quite some time since I last posted. Mostly I was just having too much fun!!!

Boston was magnificent, with trips to the Museum of Fine Art, a fantastic store called Paper Source (where I held back...), and the Unitarian Universalist Association. My sisters and I also had an awesome crepe potluck with some of Lindsey's friends. Overall, a very pleasant experience.

And then to Vermont, where I've spent an awesome week with my family in various configurations. This was quite possibly the best Christmas ever. Handmade/local gifts all around! I'll post pictures soon, but for a preview you can check out my mom's blog.

Now I've just been lazing about, felting little sock monkeys from a kit I got and reading good books. We'll see how horribly I've failed at my reading list soon, but I've added some others to make up for it! Cool family and friends keep giving me really awesome books to read, so I've been reading things a bit out of order. Back to school next Sunday. Overall, 6 weeks well spent sleeping and being crafty and lazy.

It's nice to see old friends and family. I love my family's unorthodox Christmas traditions, such as watching the animated version of Robin Hood every Christmas Eve and decorating sugar cookies as lederhosen boys. Never gets old!!!

But, I am excited to return to school. Among my classes this term is Plant Biology, which I am quite excited for and I'm sure will be making it's way onto the Crunchy Corner often!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Busybusybusy

Oy! I have not posted in quite some time! I have been ever so busy. First I was REALLY sick with some wretched grossness. Most definitely NOT H1N1, but horrible none the less. It was not fun, my mom and I were both in bed for pretty much 4 days straight... at one point we even Skyped each other from down the hall. Pretty pathetic.

Since being recovered, I have been busybusybusy with all sorts of Christmas joy. Sadly, this means I cannot share with you. But I will take lots of pictures and let you in on all the secrets later. Listening to lots of music as I work, and also watching The Sing-Off on Hulu. It is a really fun show, I stumbled upon it on accident. It is a few night series featuring 8 a capella groups from around the nation, including a group from Tufts, where a few of my friends go. They are all fantastic! It is down to the last three groups. Very fun, and Ben Folds (one of my favorites!) is a judge. If you like music/ love the show Glee as much as I do, check it out!!!

My fellow eco-freak and suite mate sent me this link to NPR's best gardening books. Worth a look.

And while you are in the holiday spirit, please consider wrapping gifts in recycled brown paper bags/paper. If you take a few rubber stamps to it, it can be quite festive! My family also has a collection of fabric bags we reuse year after year after year. We also use a lot of paper as kindling for our fires and in our wood stove.

I am off to Boston on Monday for a few days fun with my sisters. Then I am to Vermont, for a wonderful Christmas with my whole family at our Bit of Earth.

As for Copenhagen, I am beginning to loose some hope. Seems like a lot of it is a bunch of hoopla, and although many countries are supporting "strong" legislation, they're idea of strength is not nearly enough. Bill McKibben wrote an interesting article for Grist.

Most days I just think the world would be so much better if everyone just woke up tomorrow and decided to be decent human beings. Just decent. Then we might actually be able to fix the problems that face us.

But Dr. Seuss can make just about anything better... this quote is especially good:

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

Break

So most college students headed back yesterday. They will all return in a few weeks for Christmas break. But not me! I have an extra-long break, since I am on trimesters! So hopefully this pile of stuff will become really awesome handmade Christmas presents...

And of course, I have an extensive reading list! All books I know I should have already read but just never found the time:

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind William Kamkwamba (finished this weekend!)

Waiting for Snow in Havana Carlos Eire (I'm about 100 pages in, he came to speak at my high school last year and I've been wanting to read it ever since!)

Hope, Human and Wild Bill McKibben

Wandering Home Bill McKibben

Pieces From an Active Life Bill McKibben

Second Nature Michael Pollan

Made From Scratch Jenna Woginrich

The Bookseller of Kabul Asne Seierstad

Natural Capitalism Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins

The Thoreau You Don't Know Robert Sullivan

God Is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith is Changing the World John Micklewait and Adrian Woolridge

We'll just have to wait and see how many I actually get through... hopefully a good chunk of them, anyway. I went to one of my favorite bookstores this weekend, Seasoned Books in Rochester, Vermont. I also got some bumper stickers to add to my guitar case.

My mom and I drove back from Vermont today, making a pit-stop (or perhaps a long shopping trip) in Northampton, Massachusetts. Northampton is an awesome town, with lots of cool independent stores. I also found another bumper sticker there! So my guitar case will get a face-lift when I get back to school. I also picked up some crafty supplies for presents while in Northampton... :)